Singer Diverts Video Costs to World’s Poor

Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan produced the first music video that donates the normal cost of production to people around the world who need it most — mothers, babies, hospitals, schools. For instance, the hair and makeup expenses for a video shoot, about $5,000 a day, provided schooling for 145 girls in Afghanistan. Some of the lyrics to World On Fire are pasted below (click Read more)… Congrats to Sarah, who lists her donations here.

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The worlds on fire and
It’s more than I can handle
Dive into the water
I try to pull my ship
I try to bring what I am able
Bring it to the table

I watch the heavens and I find a calling
Something I can do to change this moment

COMMENTS

Pious hypocricyDon’t get me wrong – I love Ms. McLachlan’s music, and I do think her heart is technically in the right place. But to single out every aspect of producing a Music Video and not to include the money the *artist* makes is downright hypocritical.

Being a Producer and former Editor myself, I’m obviously biased. But think about it this way. The crew on a Music Video (or Film or TV show) gets paid *once* to make all the Talent look great. Said Talent then goes off and reaps all the benefits – high performance fees, big salaries, and – most important – residuals in the *sales* of records, movies, and advertising.

If Ms. McLachlan had listed off, on average, the amount of money she makes from one Video in song, album and ticket sales, then the medical supplies and food *she* could pay for would dwarf all of the rest of the production *combined*.

It’s a chickn or egg story – if Ms. McLachlan didn’t have her entourage (including filmmakers) to make her look good, then she wouldn’t be as big as she is, and in turn wouldn’t be able to *afford* similar high-priced crew on her next album (if indeed she was fortunate enough to make one). Again, at the end of the day, this crew has no product to sell. They have worked hard to help someone else earn a lot of money.

Please be gentle with each otherI know that people find it easy to criticize stars like Madonna or Jolie, or anyone wealthy. But please, let’s GO EASY on strangers who happen to post here on GNN. Any outburst can be the beginning of a positive discussion about how things can be done better. There is always MORE that people can do to help the poor but, today, we can celebrate what’s being done so far and affirm that more will be done by Sarah, and Madonna and Jolie, tomorrow.

If you find it hard to find gratitude for things like they are right now, why not join our free tele-conference call next Sunday night where we’ll discuss HOW to be grateful for things AS they ARE, so that those negative blocks, which delay our happiness, can be set aside. Powerful stuff, and Sarah’s video, and the reaction it created, is a perfect example of how we live with resentment and don’t know that it is keeping us from our highest good.